The importance of name value UCB

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
21

<p>Like I said, you’re going to get a great education at both places. The lectures and classes are going to sound the same. Its not like UCLA professors are crackheads who’ll be spouting nonsense. They both have great faculty. But we are talking about prestige and reputation to others, whether rightly or wrongly deserved. And it does matter quite a deal. Cal has a better reputation and prestige, point blank.</p>

<p>As for environment, PLEASE VISIT both schools if you are unsure. And visit when school is in session and not during finals time. The energy of Berkeley, with the students milling around in the streets will be incredible. Its not like Westwood at all. At all. You’ll either get it, or you won’t get it. The best way I can describe Berkeley is that its a bit like Greenwich Village in NYC and how NYU life is like there. Its very urban and alive. The dorms are actually IN the city 2 blocks away, not on campus. Its like the city and the university meld. UCLA is totally encased in its own walls. The dorms are on campus. When I lived in the dorms, I could walk right outside, walk less than a block and get one of the best hotdogs in the bay area at 11pm at night! Westwood is boring in comparison…I mean there’s an olive garden there for heaven’s sake! And like 2 or 3 starbucks, right? And you have to walk 15 min to snack in Westwood. Or stay and eat on campus. Not even the same.</p>

22

<p>Coming from Norcal, Berkeley was just the local university, so name value wasn’t the primary reason for my choice. I chose Berkeley mostly because of the academics, especially when I found out how highly rated they were in engineering.</p>

<p>I’ve actually not visited any other UC, besides Davis, but you should probably look at UCLA. I already liked the Berkeley area, the campus, weather (hopefully much colder than LA), and I suppose it was the only one I applied to.</p>

<p>I think most people can have fun wherever they go, but I am more interested in Berkeley, because the engineering department is much stronger, and there is a large body of incredibly intelligent people (not saying UCLA doesn’t, but Cal seems like more people who are academically focused percentage-wise).</p>